Starscream's Story: Trust and Betrayal
by Decepticop 643
Summary: ARMADA. Starscream finds himself wondering why and when his life went wrong. He tries to remember his past right from his sparkling years and unravels the real truth...
1. Chapter 1

It's dark and quiet

STARSCREAM'S STORY: TRUST AND BETRAYAL.

CHAPTER ONE.

It's dark and quiet. Where am I? I remember facing Megatron in a hellish skirmish and an impending evil force in the sky. I didn't have any time to react, it all happened so fast…

Hold on, I can remember something else now. My past and my sparkling years, it's all coming back to me. Looking back on it now I realise what a pitiful and sad existence I've had. My whole life has been about trust and betrayal, in fact I hardly recall any happy moments. Something's happening. I can feel my mind beginning to drift farther and farther away. It's taking me back right to the beginning…

Then there was nothingness.

I was born at a time when seekers were just beginning to recover from the devastation of the Great War. The loss of the legendary seeker leader Sunstar had a huge impact on my kind. Sunstar was our guardian and protector and without him, we seekers became virtually helpless against the might of the Decepticon armies. Despite what most people believe, seekers are not evil and we never were. As I would later discover, the true monsters are the Decepticons. With the fall of our leader, the Decepticons had conquered us and forced us to do their will.

However, I would soon find out that not all Decepticons are ruthless monsters…

XXX

I opened my eyes and took my first look at my new surroundings. It was cold and everything was strange to me. What's more, there were giants all around me! All I could do was stare. I felt paralysed with fear! One of the giants – a seeker, strode right up to me and picked me up. But there was something about her that I could just sense and so I didn't feel scared. Her touch was warm and gentle and her smile was kind. She whispered soothing words that really calmed me and held me close while the others watched with contained joy. It was then that I knew. She was my mother.

"Congrats Zelda. He's a pretty little fella." One of the other seekers remarked. He was a bit…unusual; in fact he didn't really look like the other seekers at all. He was quite tall and slender with long wings that pointed down and which he held at his sides instead of up and proudly like my mother's. He also appeared to have only one arm and in place of the other, there was a huge blasting weapon of some sort.

He was a mix of grey and blue with orange edging and his face clearly showed his youth.

My mother smiled and replied, "I couldn't have done it without you Thundercracker." Then she turned to me and said, "He's your father and when your wings are more developed, he'll teach you how to fly and everything."

Thundercracker laughed and said, "He'll learn from the best! So have you decided on a name yet?"

Zelda's smile disappeared and she suddenly looked very sad. I wanted to ask her what was wrong and comfort her but when I opened my mouth to speak, all that came out was a pathetic beep. I felt her grip around me tighten as she struggled to fight back her grief.

Seeing her sudden change in mood, Thundercracker put his arm gently around her shoulders and asked, "Hey what's the matter Zelda?"

She took a deep breath and stated, "He reminds me of Starscream so much. You know he would have given anything to see him…I'm just so sad that he couldn't be here today."

I didn't understand who this Starscream was and why his mentioning made my parents so upset. I desperately wanted to communicate with them and ask them about everything, but every time I tried, all I managed was petty beep.

Thundercracker replied without looking up, "Yeah, poor Screamer would have sawn off his own wings for a chance to meet his nephew. Remember how he'd talk so proudly of this little guy?"

Zelda nodded but she clearly wanted Thundercracker to drop the subject now. Losing Sunstar was one thing but losing her brother was something she just couldn't bring herself to face.

"Yes I remember. Even before he was born, Starscream used to say how special this little seeker was."

I stared in astonishment at Thundercracker. So Starscream was my uncle? Now I understood why they were so depressed. Somehow Starscream had died before we'd had a chance to meet each other. The realisation that I'd never get to see my uncle made me feel very sad and without intention, I found myself crying in my mother's arms.

"Shhh, there, there little one. It's okay."

Thundercracker looked lost in thought for a moment before he suggested, "Hey, why don't we call him Starscream? You know, in honour of your brother?"

"TC! You're brilliant! Of course! Starscream would have been overjoyed that he will be remembered in such a way." Zelda reached over and embraced my scrawny father so tightly, his intakes wheezed for a moment.

And so Starscream it was. This first chapter of my life was quite a happy one and I was eager to learn. I wanted to learn about EVERYTHING there was. About my history and my world, Cybertron and the stars and space, I wanted to know it all!

Unfortunately, one of the things I would learn about very soon was that all good things come to an end, and not everyone was as kind and gentle as my parents…

To Be Continued…

A/N: Little Screamer has some nasty surprises in store for him…


	2. Chapter 2

A\N: I just thought I'd better explain some things about this story before continuing

A\N: I just thought I'd better explain some things about this story before continuing. Although the main focus of the story revolves around Armada Screamer's life and the majority of characters and events are therefore Armada based also, there will be various references made to both, the original 1980s Transformers (eg. The mention of the original Starscream) as well as Transformers Cybertron (if you haven't figured it out already, Cybertron Thundercracker is young Screamer's father!).

Also, Zelda is my own character and she looks like any other seeker, with white and red colouring and black on the head, feet and shins.

P.S. hope you all enjoy chapter 2!

CHAPTER 2.

My first flying lessons were, essentially, daunting. It wasn't Thundercracker's fault; after all, he was only trying to teach me _how_ to behave like a seeker! But still the fact remained that, try as he (or anyone else for that matter) would, _**no one**_ was going to get me off the ground!

Later, I would look back on these _memorable_ times and feel embarrassed and, to some point, ashamed of my cowardliness. After all, I was born a seeker was I not? And as far as I could tell, a seeker lived for flight!

At the beginning I didn't understand what these two long, pointy things sticking out of my back were there for. They would just get in your way whenever you tried to do something as simple as lay down and they even prevented me from going into narrow spaces. To put it simply, they were a hindrance and a nuisance and I hated them at the time! I even recall on a few frustrating occasions, attempting to pull the rotten things right of my back. This was not only unsuccessful and amusing to the onlooker, it was downright stupid and painful.

I also didn't understand why my parents put so much time and effort into looking after their wings and why this prided them so. Zelda once told me, "Our wings are what truly make us seekers and unique from all other Transformers. Without them, we are hardly any different than the land-bound Autobots and Decepticons."

I soon learned exactly what she meant when I'd stand on the deck of our home and watch the two of them soaring high above. It was really a magnificent sight!

Thundercracker would always transform and take off first, with Zelda doing the same a few seconds after. They then flew up to a considerable altitude and transformed back into their robot modes, where they'd go into freefall for a few metres before the updrafts found their wings and they could glide effortlessly back to the ground.

Seekers are masters of gliding and the two of them appeared to fly in unison as one matched the other's every movement flawlessly.

I would watch them from below and often feel a sense of longing come over me. A part of me wanted to join them in the skies more than anything else, yet my anxiety and uncertainty kept me bound to the planet.

But I found that as I grew, as did my curiosity and desire to fly. Soon I began launching myself off shelves and platforms in a futile attempt to get airborne without leaving my comfort zone. Unfortunately, this method only saw me drop like a stone as a result of lack of speed. So then I tried running at full speed in the field and leaping into the air. This time I managed to get enough speed to send myself into a short glide but as for altitude, the highest I'd get was a few metres off the ground.

Finally, I gave up. I even began to question if I really was a seeker! The whole scenario left me with more than just a low self-esteem and at one point I declared that I was defective and would never be able to fly. Thundercracker tried in vain to reassure me by saying, "Your ability to fly will come to you in time but you mustn't give up." He paused, then added, "And you are far from defective you hear? You've got beautiful long, narrow wings that most seekers would die for!"

But his words failed to lift my spirits and I convinced myself that somehow, I was broken.

XXX

A short while afterwards I began to wander off on my own around town and go for long walks that helped me forget about my imperfections. I lived in a somewhat under-inhabited small town called Vantaaria. In fact, under-inhabited might be too fancy a word to describe Vantaaria. _Rural_ would probably suit it better.

Although most of planet Cybertron is largely urbanised, there _are_ less-developed places that few mechanoids even know exist. The truth is that the cities are mostly inhabited by the more-privileged Autobots and Decepticons, thus leaving the countryside to those who are often looked down on (namely, seekers and lower class Transformers.)

Not that this is necessarily a bad thing when you're a seeker or a sparkling. There are seemingly endless open skies and the atmosphere is pure and fresh. The local Transformers are peaceful and friendly and just about everyone knows everyone else in town. Most importantly though, a seeker can walk down the streets of Vantaaria and be assured that he won't get shot by either an Autobot, or more likely, a Decepticon lurking around a corner.

So naturally, I was allowed to navigate the streets alone as a sparkling because my parents believed I would be safe. I believed I was safe. But as it turned out, we all couldn't have been more wrong.

Because the little rural towns are so distant from the technologically advanced cities, we seldom have any visits from either of the warring factions. So when we do unexplainably end up with a rogue Decepticon on the streets, we are quick to hear about it. But as I was about to find out, sometimes the intruder manages to go undetected for quite some time.

This turned out to be the case in Vantaaria on that unforgettable day. Up until then, my life had been generally good and I had never experienced true pain, whether emotional or physical. That was before I met Megatron.

A\N: O,oh…


End file.
